9 September 2019 - - US-based biopharmaceutical company Aptorum Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: APM) is developing two preclinical drug candidates which target obesity and neuroblastoma, respectively, the company said.

About CLS-1: Treatment of obesity via modulation of chemical signaling relating to gut microbiota
Under the recently-announced microbiota modulation platform operated by Aptorum Group's wholly-owned subsidiary Claves Life Sciences Ltd., we have commenced the preclinical development of macromolecule candidate CLS-1 targeting the treatment of obesity.

CLS-1 is undergoing lead optimisation and is expected to progress into the IND enabling stage in 2020.
The prevalence of obesity continues to escalate globally; however, there is no current optimal therapy for this condition.

For the majority of obese patients, conventional medical therapies (i.e., diet, exercise, behavioral counseling) often have a high failure rate for the long term.

We believe current pharmacotherapy has limited efficacy and is associated with substantial safety issues, and this will provide immeasurable market opportunity for CLS-1.

Chemical signaling of gut microbiota is known to be one of the major causes of obesity.

CLS-1 is an orally administered non-absorbable macromolecule that modulates the metabolite excreted by gut microbiota with high affinity and specificity.

In this way, we believe the absorption of this particular metabolite, which is linked to obesity, can be inhibited.

Aptorum Group is also pursuing two further indications based on the modulation of microbiota based chemical signaling involving the above large molecule technology, which we believe to be highly scalable and we hope to be making further announcements regarding our efforts in due course.

About SACT-1: Repurposed Drug Candidates for the Treatment of Neuroblastoma
Under the recently announced Smart-ACTTM computational drug discovery platform operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary Smart Pharma Group, Aptorum Group has completed computational screening of approximately 1,615 marketed drugs against 3 therapeutic target proteins to potentially tackle poor prognosis of neuroblastoma, i.e., a rare type of children's cancer that forms in certain types of nerve tissue and most frequently in the adrenal glands as well as spine, chest, abdomen or neck, especially in children.

For the high-risk group, the five-year survival rate of this condition is around 40-50% as observed by the American Cancer Society.

Aptorum Group has identified an array of repurposed candidates and has proceeded to evaluate them in cell-based and animal models in order to validate the candidates' usage for such new indication and potential efficacies.

Aptorum Group is also pursuing two further indications under the Smart-ACTTM drug discovery platform and hopes to be making further announcements regarding our research in due course.

Aptorum Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: APM) is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercialising novel therapeutics to tackle unmet medical needs.

The group is pursuing therapeutic projects in neurology, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, oncology and other disease areas.

Claves Life Sciences Ltd. is a wholly-owned therapeutics subsidiary of Aptorum Group Ltd.

Claves focuses on the clinical development of therapeutic candidates related to the field of gastroenterology.

The potential candidates under review and potentially developed focus on the modulation of gut microbiota-derived metabolites, for the prevention or treatment of diseases.

Claves is also exploring a gut microbiota modulation platform that can generate novel customized candidates capable of fine-tuning levels of gut metabolites, potentially treating a wide range of medical conditions.

Smart Pharma Group includes Smart Pharmaceutical Ltd. Partnership, SMTPH Ltd. and its subsidiaries. The Smart Pharma Group is wholly owned by Aptorum Group Ltd.

Smart Pharma Group focuses on systematically repurposing existing approved drugs for the treatment of a large array of orphan diseases. Smart Pharma Group conducts both computational based screening and preclinical validations in advancing the development of its repurposed candidates.